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Chasing the Wind | Solomon’s Quest for True Contentment (Sept 2) · 1 Year Audio Bible Podcast

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  Where do we find true contentment in this life?
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  How do we find joy and satisfaction in
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  this life? Where do we find true happiness
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  in this life? This is the quest
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  that Solomon goes on in the book of Ecclesiastes.
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  He opens the book with this thought: Everything is meaningless,
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  says the teacher, utterly meaningless.
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  I looked at everything, he goes on to say, and I had worked so hard
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  to accomplish. It was all so meaningless.
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  It was like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile
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  anywhere. He continues on in verse 20, so I turned
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  in despair from hard work. It was
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  not the answer to my search for satisfaction. In this
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  life. Solomon was the wisest man
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  in the world, and he's on a quest to find
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  the true secret of happiness and contentment
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  and joy in this life. Join us as we go on a
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  deep dive in the Book of Ecclesiastes.
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  Welcome to the Daily Audio Torah. Today is September 2nd.
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  Now let's continue our journey reading through the entire Bible
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  in one year. This week we are reading from the New Living Translation for the
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  Old Testament and for the New Testament.
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  Deuteronomy 19:1-10.
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  When the Lord your God destroys the nations whose land he is giving
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  you, you will take over their land and settle
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  in their towns and homes. Then you must set apart 3 cities of
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  refuge in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
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  Survey the territory and divide the land the Lord your God is giving
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  you into 3 districts, with one of these cities in each
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  district. Then anyone who has killed someone can
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  flee to one of the cities of refuge for safety.
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  If someone kills another person unintentionally,
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  without previous hostility, the slayer may flee to
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  any of these cities to live in safety. For example,
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  suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood,
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  and suppose one of them swings an axe to chop down a tree and the
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  axe head flies off the handle, killing the
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  other person. In such cases, the slayer may flee
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  to one of the cities of refuge to live in safety.
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  If the distance to the nearest city of refuge is too far,
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  an enraged avenger might be able to chase down and kill the person
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  who caused the death. Then the slayer would die unfairly,
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  since he had never shown hostility toward the one who died.
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  That is why I am commanding you to set aside 3 cities
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  of refuge. And if the Lord your God enlarges your territory,
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  as He swore to your ancestors, and gives you all the land
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  He promised them, you must designate 3 additional cities of refuge.
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  He will give you this land if you are careful to obey all the commands
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  I have given you. If you always love the Lord your God
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  and walk in His ways. That way you will prevent
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  the death of innocent people in the land the Lord your God is giving you
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  as your special possession. You will not be held responsible
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  for the death of innocent people.
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  Ecclesiastes 1:9-11.
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  1:3-22. These are the words of the Teacher, King David's son, who ruled in
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  Jerusalem. Everything is meaningless, says the Teacher,
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  utterly meaningless. What do people get for all
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  their hard work? Generations come and go, but nothing really
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  changes. The sun rises and sets and hurries around
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  to rise again. The wind blows south and north,
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  here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere.
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  The rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the
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  water returns again to the rivers and flows again to the sea.
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  Everything is so weary and tiresome. No matter how
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  much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter
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  how much we hear, we are not content.
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  History merely repeats itself. It has
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  all been done before.
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  Nothing under the sun is truly new. What can you point to
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  that is new? How do you know it didn't already exist
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  long ago? We don't remember what happened in those former times,
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  and in future generations, no one will remember what
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  we are doing now.
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  I, the teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.
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  I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore
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  by wisdom everything being done in the world. I soon
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  discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence
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  to the human race. Everything under the sun is meaningless,
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  like chasing the wind. What is wrong cannot be
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  righted. What is missing cannot be recovered. I said
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  to myself, Look! I am wiser than any of the kings
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  who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have
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  greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.
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  So I worked hard to distinguish wisdom from foolishness.
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  But now I realize that even this was like chasing the wind.
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  For the greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
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  To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
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  I said to myself, come now, let's give pleasure a try.
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  Let's look for the good things in life. But I found that this, too,
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  was meaningless. It is silly to be laughing all the
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  time, I said. What good does it do to seek only
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  pleasure? After much thought, I decided to cheer myself
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  with wine. While still seeking wisdom,
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  I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I hoped to
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  experience the only happiness most people find during their
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  brief life in this world.
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  I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself
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  and by planting beautiful vineyards. I made gardens and
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  parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees.
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  I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many
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  flourishing groves. I bought slaves, both men and
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  women, and others were born into my household.
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  I also owned great herds and flocks,
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  more than any of the kings who lived in Jerusalem before me.
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  I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure
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  of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers,
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  both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines.
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  I had everything a man could desire.
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  So I became greater than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem
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  before me. And with it all, I remained clear-eyed
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  so that I could evaluate all these things.
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  Anything I wanted, I took. I did not
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  restrain myself from any joy. I even found great
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  pleasure in hard work, an additional reward
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  for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked
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  so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless.
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  It was like chasing the wind. There was nothing
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  really worthwhile anywhere.
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  So I decided to compare wisdom and folly, and anyone else
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  would come to the same conclusions I did. Wisdom is
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  of more value than foolishness.
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  Just as light is better than darkness.
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  For the wise person sees, while the fool is
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  blind. Yet I saw that wise and foolish
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  people share the same fate. Both of them die.
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  Just as the fool will die, so will I. So of what value is
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  all my wisdom? Then I said to myself, this is all
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  so meaningless. For the wise person and the
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  fool both die, and in the days to come,
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  both will be forgotten. So now I hate life,
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  because everything done here under the sun is so irrational.
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  Everything is meaningless, like chasing the wind.
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  I am disgusted that I must leave the fruits of my hard work
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  to others. And who can tell whether my successors will be
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  wise? Or foolish, and yet they
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  will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work.
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  How meaningless! So I turned in despair from hard
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  work. It was not the answer to my search for satisfaction in
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  this life. For though I do my work with wisdom,
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  knowledge, and skill, I must leave everything
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  I gain to people who haven't worked to earn it.
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  This is not only foolish but highly unfair.
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  So what do people get for all their hard work? Their days of
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  labor are filled with pain and grief. Even at
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  night they cannot rest. It is all utterly meaningless.
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  So I decided there is nothing better than
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  to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work.
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  Then I realized that this pleasure is from the
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  hand of God, for who can eat or enjoy anything apart from
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  Him? God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy
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  to those who please Him. But if a sinner becomes
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  wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those
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  who please Him. Even this, however, is meaningless, like chasing
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  the wind. There is a time for
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  everything, A season for every activity under heaven: a
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  time to be born and a time to die,
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  a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time
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  to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down
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  and a time to rebuild, a time to cry and
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  a time to laugh, a time to grieve and a time
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  to dance, a time to scatter stones and a
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  time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a
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  time to turn away. A time to search and
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  a time to lose. A time to keep and a time
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  to throw away. A time to tear and
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  a time to mend. A time to be quiet and
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  a time to speak up. A time to love and
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  a time to hate. A time for war and a time
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  for peace. What do people really get for all
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  their hard work? I have thought about this in connection with the various kinds
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  of work God has given people to do. God has made
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  everything beautiful for its own time.
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  He has planted eternity in the human
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  heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope
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  of God's work from beginning to end.
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  So I concluded that there is nothing better for people
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  than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long
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  as they can. And people should eat and drink
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  and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
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  And I know that whatever God does is final.
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  Nothing can be added to it or taken from it.
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  God's purpose in this is that people should fear Him.
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  Whatever exists today and whatever will exist in the future has
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  already existed in the past,
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  for God calls each event back in its turn.
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  I also noticed that throughout the world there is evil in
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  the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law
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  are corrupt. I said to myself, in due season,
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  God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.
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  Then I realized that God allows people to continue in
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  their sinful ways so He can test them.
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  That way, they can see for themselves that they are no better
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  than animals, for humans and animals both breathe
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  the same air. And both
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  die. So people have no real advantage over the animals.
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  How meaningless! Both go to the same
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  place, the dust from which they came and to which they must
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  return. For who can prove that the human spirit goes upward
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  and the spirit of animals goes downward into the earth? So I saw that
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  there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work.
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  That is why they are here. No one will bring them
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  back from the dead to enjoy life in the future.
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  2 Corinthians 6:1-13.
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  As God's partners, we— Paul and his coworkers— beg you,
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  Corinthians, not to reject this marvelous message of God's
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  great kindness. For God says, at just the
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  right time I heard you, On the day of salvation I helped you.
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  Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is
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  the day of salvation. We try to live in such a way
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  that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act,
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  and so no one can find fault with our ministry.
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  In everything we do, we try to show that we are true ministers of
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  God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships
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  and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten,
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  been put in jail, faced angry mobs,
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  worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights,
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  and gone without food. We have proved ourselves by
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  our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness,
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  our sincere love, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
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  We have faithfully preached the truth. God's power
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  has been working in us. We have righteousness as our weapon,
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  both to attack and to defend ourselves. We serve
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  God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they
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  slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they
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  call us imposters. We are well known, but we are treated
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  as unknown. We live close to death, but here we
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  are still alive. We have been beaten within an inch
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  of our lives. Our hearts ache, but we always have
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  joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches
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  to others. We own nothing, and yet we have
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  everything. Oh dear Corinthian
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  friends, we have spoken honestly with you.
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  Our hearts are open to you. If there is
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  a problem between us, it is not because of a lack of love
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  on our part. But because you have withheld your love from us.
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  I am talking now as I would to my own children.
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  Open your hearts to us.
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  Psalm 46:1-11.
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  God is our refuge and strength,
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  always ready to help in times of trouble. So we
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  will not fear, Even if earthquakes come
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  and the mountains crumble into the sea, let the oceans
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  roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters
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  surge. A river brings joy to the city of
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  our God, the sacred home of the Most High.
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  God himself lives in that city. It cannot be destroyed.
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  God will protect it at the break of day. The nations
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  are in an roar, and kingdoms crumble.
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  God thunders, and the earth melts. The Lord Almighty
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  is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.
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  Come, see the glorious works of the Lord.
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  See how He brings destruction upon the world and causes
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  wars to end throughout the earth. He breaks
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  the bow and snaps the spear in two. He burns the shields
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  with fire. Be silent and know that I am
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  God. I will be honored by every nation.
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  I will be honored throughout the world. The Lord Almighty is
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  here among us. The God of Israel is our fortress.
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  Proverbs 22:15.
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  A youngster's heart is filled with foolishness,
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  but discipline will drive it away.
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  I want to speak to you today from our reading from Ecclesiastes 1 through
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  3. And here Solomon, who was considered
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  the wisest person on earth— remember,
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  Solomon was given wisdom from the Lord
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  as a gift from Him, because when God said,
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  what is it you ask? What is it you seek? He said, help me to
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  have wisdom to rule this people.
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  He was the king of Israel, and so the Father gave
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  him tremendous, tremendous wisdom. So here in Ecclesiastes,
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  with all of the wisdom that he has, he is asking some deep
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  questions in life, and these questions
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  are questions for us to ponder as well.
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  He opens the book with this thought. Everything is meaningless,
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  says the teacher, utterly meaningless.
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  And then he asks, what do people get for all their hard
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  work? And then he
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  goes on to say, no matter how much we see, we're never satisfied. No matter
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  how much we hear, we're not content. And then he
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  says an important truth in verse 9. History merely repeats
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  itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun
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  is truly new. He picks
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  up with this very same theme. What is the meaning and the purpose
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  of life? That is his burning question.
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  Why am I here? And how can I have
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  contentment or joy or happiness? Where,
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  where do I find that? And he goes on to say,
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  I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish.
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  And it was all so meaningless. It was
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  like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile
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  anywhere. I turned, he goes on to say
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  in verse 20, in despair from hard work. It was not
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  the answer to my search for satisfaction in this life.
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  And so then in chapter 2 or chapter
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  3, He says in verse 9, what do
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  people really get for all their hard work?
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  I have thought about this in connection with the various kinds of work God has
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  given people to do. God has
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  made everything beautiful in its own
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  time. And so he's on
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  a quest. He's on a mission. He wants to find satisfaction.
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  In this life, contentment in this life, joy and
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  peace in this life. And he's seeing that people
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  are a lot like a hamster on a wheel and they're just running and running
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  and running. People are just like the Energizer Bunny rabbit.
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  They just keep going and going and going.
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  He comes to one conclusion in verse 22. So I
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  saw there is nothing better for people than to be
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  happy in their work. That is why they are here. No one
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  will bring them back from death to enjoy life in the
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  future. Where do we find true contentment?
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  Where do we find true happiness and joy in this life?
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  Solomon is on a quest to find the answers to these questions.
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  We'll pick this up tomorrow.